Rani Sri Latifah's Turning Point: Finding Peace Through Kaniemoji Bakery

Financial success and a prestigious corporate career do not always guarantee inner happiness. This reality was experienced firsthand by Rani Sri Latifah, the entrepreneur behind Kaniemoji Bakery and an alumna of Bina Sarana Informatika University (UBSI) Cengkareng, class of 2014. Her journey from a migrant worker to a resilient entrepreneur was filled with ambition, the achievement of multi-billion rupiah targets, and struggles with mental health.

Rani’s story in the capital began from scratch as a migrant. Before she could attend university, she had to postpone her education for one year to work in a ‘warteg’ (a traditional Indonesian food stall). There, she started from the bottom, beginning as a shopper before eventually being trusted as a cashier. Once she had saved enough money, Rani enrolled at UBSI while continuing to work consistently at the 2-hour-a-day food stall.

The early days of her university studies were highly challenging. From her first to her fourth semester, Rani was known by her peers and lecturers at UBSI Cengkareng by the nickname ‘nasi keliling’ (mobile rice seller). This nickname stuck because she would always carry and sell wrapped rice to campus to meet student needs due to the lack of a canteen at the time.

Recognising Rani’s strong sales and branding potential, her employer at the food stall invited her to help establish PT Permata Jaya Elektronik, an electronics credit business with daily instalments targeting market traders. Rani worked as a sales professional at the company for approximately four years until she graduated.

After graduating, Rani pursued her primary dream of working in banking, a profession she believed at the time to be very comfortable and professional. She began her professional career as an outsourced credit card salesperson at Citibank without a basic salary. Through what she described as